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William Tecumseh Shennan as 
College President 



By WALTER L. FLEMING 



Reprint from The South Atlantic Quarterly, January, 1912 



D. OF D. 
iUl 22 1913 



William Tecumseh Sherman 
as College President 

Walter L. Fleming 

Professor of History in I,ouisiana State University 

The Louisiana State Seminary (now the Louisiana State Uni- 
versity,) began its first session on January 2, 1860, with William 
Tecumseh Sherman as superintendent or president. The Univer- 
sity, a few months ago, celebrated with brilliant exercises its 
semi-centennial, and upon that occasion there came from New 
York to speak for the family of its first executive P. Tecumseh 
Sherman, the youngest son of the general. During the first 
years of its existence the institution has passed through 
many vicissitudes and has developed from a small military semi- 
nary into a modern University, but it has never lost the impress 
of its first organization, perfected from 1859 to 1861 b}' Sherman. 
During the war Sherman's expressed wishes preserved the insti- 
tution from total destruction by the Federal armies, and after 
the war the University, struggling under the weight of carpet- 
baggism, continued to receive assistance from him in his position 
of authority. Finally, it was due mainly to him that the Fed- 
eral government gave to the University its present beautiful site 
— the old military post of Baton Rouge. 

The Louisiana State Seminary, to the presidency of which Sher- 
man was elected on August 2, 1859, was in origin and organiza- 
tion similar to the state universities of other states. Its endow- 
ment was derived from the sale of public lands donated in 1806 
and 181 L for educational purposes to the state of Louisiana. 
For the location of the school many towns fought before the 
legislature until 1852 when that body chose a site out in the 
pine woods four miles from Alexandria, in Rapides Parish, on the 
north bank of Red River. Here during the next six years a fine 
building was erected, and meanwhile the legislature enacted sev- 
eral laws providing for the academic organization. 

The first faculty was elected in August, 1859. Sherman was made 
superintendent and professor of engineering; Dr. Anthony Vallas, 
a noted Hungarian scholar, exiled on account of his connection 
with the Revolution of 1848, was professor of mathematics; 



4 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

Francis W. Smith and David French Boyd, both young Virgin- 
ians and graduates of the University of Virginia, were professors 
respectively of chemistry and ancient languages ; E. Berte St. 
Ange, a graduate of the Lycee Charlemagne, Paris, and formerly 
an officer of the French navy and a noted duellist, was professor 
of modern languages. The surgeon and adjutant was Dr. John 
Sevier of Tennessee who had served with distinction in Nicaragua 
under William Walker, the fiHbuster; later Dr. Sevier gave place 
to Dr. Powhatan Clarke, a Virginian, trained in Paris, who 
now is the president of the Retired Baltimore College of Physic- 
ians and Surgeons and is theonly surviving colleague of Sherman, 

The appointment of Sherman was somewhat of a surprise to him. 
After resigning from the army he had tried banking and law in 
California, New York, and Kansas, and, being disgusted with 
both professions, had applied for the Louisiana position. His at- 
tention had been called to this place by Major Don Carlos Buell 
of the War Department, and his election was brought about main- 
ly through the influence of General G. Mason Graham, of Louisi- 
ana, half brother of General R. B. Mason, who had been Sherman's 
commanding officer in California. Graham, then a resident oi 
Rapides parish and vice-president of the Board of Supervisors, 
had formed a favorable opinion of Sherman. In connection with 
the election an interesting incident is related. Before coming to 
Sherman's application the board examined voluminous papers 
relating to the merits of several other candidates. Sherman's 
application consisted of a half page note making application for 
the place and referring to Braxton Bragg, P. G. T. Beauregard, 
and Richard Taylor, all then living in Louisiana. "No sooner 
was this letter read," so the story goes, "than Sam Henarie, a 
plain business man and a member of the board, exclaimed ; 'By 
God, he's my man. He's a man of sense. Pm ready for the vote.' 
'But,' said Governor Wickliffe, *we have a number more of appli- 
cations. We must read them all.' 'Well, you can read them, but 
let me out of here while you are reading. When you get through, 
call me and I'll come back and vote for Sherman.' " 

Sherman was in Leavenworth, Kansas, practicing law when 
notified of his election. He went at once to Lancaster, Ohio, 
where his family was staying and there remained during the rest 
of the summer. In preparation for the opening of the Seminary 



Sherman as College President 6 

he carried on an extensive correspondence with army officers, 
notable among them Captain George B. McClellan, in regard to 
the plans and policies best suited to military schools. In No- 
vember he came south to arrange for the beginning of the first 
session. 

Sherman's first work in Louisiana was the preparation of a 
body of rules for the government of officers and students of the 
Seminary. For some of these he drew upon the regulations of 
the Virginia Military Institute, already famed as a military 
school, and upon his own experience at West Point. Some of 
the more interesting rules are as follows: 

No Cadet shall keep a waiter, horse, or dog. 

No Cadet shall in any way use tobacco, nor have it in his room or in 
his possession. 

No Cadet shall cook or prepare food in the Seminary building, or have 
cooked provisions in his room, without permission. 

No Cadet shall visit the room of any other Cadet during the hours al- 
lotted to study and sleep. 

No Cadet shall send or accept a challenge to fight a duel, or shall be 
the bearer of such a challenge, written or verbal. 

Any Cadet who shall abuse another Cadet, by playing unjustifiable 
tricks on him, shall be punished according to the nature of the offense. 

No Cadet shall throw stones or other missiles in the vicinity of the 
building. 

No Cadet shall play cards, or have them in his possession. Games of 
Chess and Backgammon will be allowed, but only in recreation hours; 
and in no case will betting of money or other things be permitted. 

All unnecessary talking at the table is prohibited. The Carvers alone 
shall call for the waiters. 

Wasting, or taking from the Mess Hall, provisions, or mess furniture 
of any kind, is strictly forbidden. 

A minority of the Board of Supervisors was opposed to the 
military feature of the organization, and one of these secured the 
manuscript of the regulations prepared by the superintendent 
and for several months refused to return it. Consequently it was 
not printed until the summer of 1860. The original manuscript 
of the regulations in Sherman's handwriting was taken from the 
Seminary during Bank's Red River expedition in 1864 by General 
T. Kirby Smith and was returned to the Louisiana State Univer- 
sity by his son in 1909. 

A circular of information was next prepared and sent out over 
the state. This circular emphasized the fact that the school 



6 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

would be a military and scientific institution, and not a classical 
school similar to the numerous other colleges which the state of 
Louisiana had tried to establish but had failed. 

Early in November, 1859, Sherman moved to the Seminary 
building in order to push to completion the work which still had 
to be done. In his memoirs he says of this work: 

"A carpenter named James resided there and had the general charge of 
the property ; but, as there was not a table, chair, blackboard, or any- 
thing on hand, necessary for the beginning, I concluded to quarter my- 
self in one of the rooms of the Seminary, and board with an old black 
woman who cooked for James, so that I might personally push forward 
the necessary preparations. There was an old rail fence about the place 
and a large pile of boards in front. I immediately engaged four carpen- 
ters, and set them to work to make out of these boards mess-tables, 
benches, black-boards, etc. I also opened a correspondence with the 
professors-elect, and with all parties of influence in the State, who were 
Interested in our work." 

The fact that Sherman boarded with the carpenters gave the 
foundation to the story of later days that the state of Louisiana, 
gathering all its resources for war, refused to pay Sherman's sal- 
ary and thus reduced him to such straits that he was forced to 
live on servant's fare. He, at the time, complained that the 
negroes thought him "as rich as Croesus himself." He wrote to 
Mrs. Sherman "that the old cook Amy always hid away for me 
the best pieces of butter and made my breakfast and dinner bet- 
ter than the carpenters', always saying she knowed I wasn't 
used to such kind of living. She don't know what I have passed 
through." 

In December as soon as he had cleared the building of rubbish 
Sherman went to New Orleans and there purchased furniture and 
the texts and reference books necessary for the beginning of aca- 
demic work. 

During November and December he conducted an extensive cor- 
respondence with those who were interested in his work. To 
former army acquaintances he wrote for advice as to organiza- 
tion and administration. From Chicago George B. McClellan 
sent information as to text-books, uniforms, athletics, and the 
course of study. Braxton Bragg, formerly Sherman's command- 
ing officer in the Third Artillery, wrote from his plantation at 
Thibodeaux, Louisiana, that he was urging the merits of the 



Sherman as College President 7 

Seminary, andP. G. T. Beauregard, then stationed in New Orleans, 
sent greetings and offers of support to the institution. 

In December the professors gathered at Alexandria and at the 
Seminary in readiness for the opening. Sherman's estimates of 
his colleagues are found in his letters to his wife. Of Dr. Vallas 
he wrote, "he is an Episcopal clergyman but his religion don't 
hurt him much. He seems a pleasant enough man, fifty years 
old, fat, easy and comfortable." Of the others he said : "Profes- 
sor Boyd is a young man . . a very clever gentleman . . Mr. Smith 
is one of the real Virginia F. F. V's a very handsome young man 
of twenty-two who will doubtless be good company— (Vallas 
and St. Ange are very clever gentlemen — but these are foreigners 
with their peculiarities.) We have also a Dr. Sevier here of Ten- 
nessee, a rough sort of fellow but a pretty fair sort of man — in- 
deed, on the whole, the professors are above the mediocrity." 

Of his first meeting with Sherman, Professor Boyd, who suc- 
ceeded him as president, wrote in later years : "Late in the after- 
noon of the day before the school was to open, I reported at the 
oflBce of the superintendent. Colonel W. T. Sherman. He received 
me very kindly and in his characteristic way chatted about 
everything. He was then, as he ever was, the prince of talkers. 
I fell in love with him at first sight. His appearance was very 
striking. Tall, angular, with figure shghtly bent, bright hazel 
eyes and auburn hair, with a tuft of it behind that would, when 
he was a little excited, stick straight out. Until I met him I had 
supposed him a Georgian; and, when he corrected me, and told me, 
that he was from Ohio, I could but ask, considering the great 
sectional feeling and excitement then over the country, if he was 
related to the then famous Republican candidate for the speaker- 
ship of the House, John Sherman? 'Only a brother,' said he, 
'and I don't care who knows it !' I could but admire the cour- 
age and defiance of his reply. But from that time on, he and I 
had it up and down, hot and heavy on politics, yet always so 
pleasantly." 

To the opening of the Seminary on January 2, 1860, there 
came "a heterogeneous crowd of matriculates." "The sons ot 
wealthy planters from the rivers, and aristocratic Creoles from 
the South, the nimble pony-riding Cajeans from the prairies, and 
the diligent quiet fellows from the pine woods composed the 



8 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

corps of cadets and came to be known as 'Sherman's boys'. He 
always spoke of them as 'my boys,' continuing to do so after he 
left the college. Among them were some wild subjects, impatient 
of control, and Sherman's life at the college was not all smooth 
sailing." So wrote one of those boys who for two years sat un- 
der Sherman's instruction. 

The superintendent remarked upon the fact that many of the 
boys were accompanied by their mothers who seemed to think 
that going to college was a dangerous business and who parted 
from their sons "with tears and blessings". "The dullest boys", 
he said, "have the most affectionate mothers, and the most vic- 
ious boys here come recommended with all the virtues of saints. 
. . . Of course I promised to be a father to them all." Some 
of the parents wrote to Sherman giving minute instruction as to 
how their sons were to be looked after, how disciplined, fed, and 
clothed. The superintendent was expected to perform duties 
ranging from those of a nurse or mother to those of ajailor. But 
most of them, he states, were wholly sensible in their views of 
what they expected their sons to get from their college course. A 
curious request made by Major P. G. T. Beauregard, then living 
in New Orleans, was that hisson be given aroom-mate "who has 
not seen much of city life." 

The best source of information about the opening of the Semin- 
ary is the private correspondence of Sherman, who wrote fre- 
quently and without reserve to his wife and little daughter and 
other relatives. From letters written in January, 1860, we learn 
that the work was rapidly organized. He says: 

"I took things inhand a /a militarism, usurped full authority and began 
the system ab initio. We now have thirty-two cadets who attend 
reveille and all roll calls like soldiers, have their meals with absolute 
regularity and are always hard at work at mathematics, French and 
Latin. I am the only West Pointer, but they submit to me with the 
docility of lambs. A good many gentlemen have attended their sons 
and are much pleased with the building and all arrangements. 

I have to write many letters to their fathers and mothers, who think 
I must take particular care of their children, but I cause all to be treated 
just alike. They all recite every day in algebra, French and Latin, be- 
sides which we drill them like soldiers an hour each day. At present I 
help the other Professors, but after a while that won't be necessary, and 
therefore I will have more time. We now have fifty young men, some of 
whom are only fifteen years old and some are men, but all of them eat, 
sleep, study and recite their lessons in this building. 



Sherman as College President 9 

We put three or four in a room. All have their beds, which they make 
on the floor; at daylight they make up their beds, roll them up and strap 
them. They then sweep out their own rooms, and study their lessons 
till breakfast at seven o'clock, then they commence to recite and continue 
reciting till 4 p. m. when they are drilled an hour. At sundown they get 
their supper and study their lessons till 10 o'clock, when all go to bed 
and sleep till day-light." 

With the students Sherman was popular in spite of the fact that 
by the military system he was given a peculiarly irritating con- 
trol over the liberty-loving young southerners. He saw to the 
enforcement of the usual military regulations; he confiscated the 
boxes of good things sent from home to the hungry young fel- 
lows; he advised the students about their accounts at the Semi- 
nary store; he looked after their clothing, and, as much as possi- 
ble, performed the duty of parent. He soon knew each student 
personally, and, since he frequently attended the recitations, he 
soon knew every man's class standing. "When occasion re- 
quired," writes an old student, "he knew how to reprimand, and 
the words of kindness and encouragement often fell from his lips." 
With student and professor he was on pleasant, familiar terms 
and in each he took a deep interest. A colleague wrote of him : 

"He made every professor and cadet at the Seminary keep his place 
and do bis duty; at the same time, he was the intimate, social compan- 
ion and confidential friend of the professor, and a kind, loving father to 
the cadet. All loved him. In the 'ofl" hours' from study or drill, he en- 
couraged the cadet to look him up and have a talk. And often have I 
seen his private rooms nearly full of boys, listening to his stories of army 
or western life, which he loved so well to tell them. Nor could he appear 
on the grounds in recreation hours without the cadets one by one gath- 
ering around him for a talk. Nothing seemed to delight him so much as 
to mingle with us freely, and the magnetism of the man riveted us all to 
him very closely, especially the cadets. Scarcely a day passed that he 
did not see each and every one of them personally, asking not only 
about themselves and all that concerned them at the school, but about 
their people at home, when they had last heard from them, how they 
were and about the crops, etc. And if a cadet fell sick, the loving care 
and attention he gave him! He was at his bedside several times day and 
night, watching him closely, consoling and encouraging him. Such in- 
terest in his students, and such confidence and affection for him in re- 
turn, and such impressing of his character upon his student, I have never 
seen in any other college president. History tells that he was one of the 
greatest generals of this century; let history also tell that he was one of 
the greatest college presidents." 



10 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

Military drill began a few days after the opening. Major 
Smith, the commandant, was in charge of this work, but during 
the first weeks he was assisted by Sherman, whose attention was 
given mainly to the "green squad", composed of those whose 
control of arms, hands, feet, and knees seemed to be limited. "We 
were an untutored set", said an ex-cadet, "and often provoked 
the disgust of the officers. Some of us made such slow progress 
that an awkward squad was formed, of which I was a promin- 
ent member, being placed there by Sherman's own direction." 

The uniforms were designed by Graham and Sherman, with the 
suggestions and advice of Captain McClellan. The boys were 
delighted when the uniforms arrived. The dress coat was a dark 
blue military frock, with standing collar and gilt buttons bearing 
the coat of arms of Louisiana. The pantaloons were blue with a 
black welt down the outer seam. For ordinary wear there was 
a fatigue uniform. During the first session the professors wore 
uniforms similar to those of the cadets except that the coat was 
double breasted. Most of the professors objected to the uniform, 
but not so the students who were immensely pleased with the 
show they made. "Our uniforms were showy and uncomfort- 
able," wrote one of them who later wore the gray, "the hat for 
dress occasions was a gorgeous affair — high and broad and stiff, 
with brazen ornaments representing the college building, and the 
coat of arms of the state, and waving black ostrich plumes. An 
African prince would have given treasures of ivory and gold dust 
for such a royal head piece." 

The question of discipline was of course a serious one. Young 
southern men of that time were not accustomed to rigid discip- 
line. It was mainly the desire for astricter training for their sons 
that caused southern fathers to establish in each southern state 
a military academy. However at the Louisiana State Seminary 
for a month after the opening all went well. There were no seri- 
ous breaches of discipline, and Sherman was congratulating him- 
self upon the situation. But about February 1, when the newness 
of the situation had worn off, the test of strength came. Among 
the students were several hard characters sent by their parents 
to the Seminary as a last resort. These planned a campaign of 
passive opposition to the authorities. But other happenings 
brought matters to a crisis quickly. The orderly sergeant re- 



Sherman as College President 11 

ported one of the cadets, and out of this a fight resulted in which 
knives were drawn. Sherman convened a faculty court of in- 
quiry and upon its findings summarily dismissed both belliger- 
ents. Both then apologized profusely and were readmitted only 
to join the passive opposition. Sherman soon disposed of this. 
One was expelled upon Professor Boyd's report "for singing a 

blackguard song". Another, W , came to Sherman to 

draw money for the purpose of going into Alexandria to see a 

dentist. Sherman gave him an order on the dentist, but W 

complained that that was "no way to treat a gentleman" and 
was soon on his way home. 

Then came the C case which Sherman reported to his 

wife as follows: "It is against the rules for cadets to use tobac- 
co — (but we know that they do use it), but this morning one did 
it so openly that I supposed he did it in defiance. I went to his 
room to see him but he was out, and in one drawer of his wash- 
stand 1 found plenty of tobacco. I, of course, emptied it into the 

fireplace. Soon after the young gentleman, named C , 

came to me, evidently instigated by others, and complained of ill 
treatment and soon complained of my opening his drawer, inti- 
mating that it was a breach of propriety. Of course I soon ad- 
vised him that his concealment and breach of regulations, as well 
known to him, was the breach of honor. He said he would not 
stay and after some preliminaries I shipped him. Another came 
with a similar complaint and I sent him off and then the matter 
ended. These two last were dull at books and noisy, quarrel- 
some fellows and a good riddance." 

This ''emeute'\ as Sherman called it, settled the question of 
mastery. The troubles of discipline after this were slight. One 

parent, P T , alarmed at Sherman's energetic 

methods, wrote to General Graham that the Seminary, "the last 
best hope of Louisiana's sons" might be endangered by this se- 
vere treatment of the young men; "Will our sons submit to the 
arbitrary commands of dictators?"; he "fears the effects of strin- 
gent personal command — the government which originates in the 
mere will of the superior." Graham responded with his familiar 
argument in favor of military government and added that some 
"have sent chronic cases to this institution as their last hope for 
a cure, but we don't intend to keep this kind of a hospital. . . . 



12 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

'There is no other name known unto men' whereby he can get 
creditably through this institution but order and industry". 

Upon investigation Sherman found that young T had 

been "oppressed" by Professor Boyd who ordered him out of the 
class-room for making a disturbance about a pig's tail which 
some one had tied to a fellow student's coat. These facts calmed 
his father. 

The dry fare at the Seminary mess hall was a cause of much 
mischief and of violation of rules on the part of the students. To 
get something to eat they were accustomed to escape from the 
building at night and take a short cut through the woods to 
Pineville and Alexandria or to some house where such delicacies 
as ham and eggs could be had. Raids were made upon the poul- 
try yards of the steward Jarreau and of the country people who 
lived from one to three miles away. Chickens, turkeys, and 
small pigs were cooked in negro cabins or in the rooms of the 
students. The superintendent was at times kept busy protecting 
the property of his neighbors and several times marauders were 
caught by him. A member of the faculty said of his activity in 
this direction : 

"He was a natural born detective. From the least little clew he 
would infer what a cadet was doing. Once I renjember we were strol- 
ling in the woods, and passed a group of cadets a little distance off. I 
had observed nothing unusual when he spoke up : 'Those fellows seem 
a little flushed. They are up to something.' I thought no more of it. 
The next day he called me into the office and said: 'You remember 
those boys we passed in the woods ? They were concocting a plan to 
rob the henroosts of the neighbors. They have confessed it all to me.' 
And by his everlasting vigilance and quick perception he prevented much 
petty mischief. He was well named Tecumseh. The wily old Indian 
was hardly superior to Sherman in reading the 'signs' and divining the 
plans of the foe or cadet." 

Some of the students organized a foraging society. Sherman 
discovered it and obtained "the constitution of the marauders". 
In order to break it up he demanded that certain innocent stu- 
dents who knew those guilty of stealing chickens — the "Mose 
Chicken Case" this was called — should disclose the names of the 
offenders. With much difficulty was the information obtained, 
the students maintaining that it would be dishonorable "to tell 
on" the guilty parties. In this connection Sherman issued an or- 
der from which the following extract is taken : 



Sherman as College President 13 

"The Superintendent will call upon no cadet to expose the little pec- 
cadillos of his fellow, but when these peccadillos amount to violence, 
breaking the laws of the State, and insults to superiors, the case is dif- 
ferent, and it should be the pride of every cadet to keep in check these 
things, for they aim at the destruction ot the Institution itself. There is 
a wide difference in the two classes of cases. Older and better informed 
cadets are now cautioned against being drawn into the custom of con- 
ceahng real wrongs and outrages, because itlooks like "tattling". Mis- 
chievous cadets will try to establish this rule, because it will shelter them 
in their mischief." 

When the food was unbearable, as it was at times, the students 
were almost uncontrollable. On one occasion when the meat was 
odorous the student body threw the dishes and their contents on 
the floor; at another time they ran the waiters from the messhall, 
a few of the lawless element firing pistols at the fleeing menials 
as they ran. After each outbreak the leaders were dismissed, and 
the food was slightly improved. 

The use of tobacco and whiskey was forbidden, but it was hard 
to break some of the boys of habits long formed. One student, 
who had stored whiskey in his room, threatened the superinten- 
dent with a pistol and then left without waiting to be dismissed. 
The most lawless were in this way soon "■renvoye" as the records 
politely say, but the ones who remained were lively enough. 
They ducked the negro servants in the spring, polished Dr. Vallas's 
blackboards with bear grease hair oil, and raided the steward's 
stores. Finally a regular guard, as in the army, was established 
and the mischief was moderated. 

There was some church going on Sundays, but the students had 
to walk three miles to service unless Dr. Vallas preached at the 
Seminary, which was seldom. There were rumors that the 
church squad visited the bar-rooms before returning to the Semi- 
nary, but Sherman declared these stories were invented by the 
disappointed shopkeepers of Alexandria who could not get cadet 
custom. Such games as chess, backgammon, etc., were encour- 
aged in the barracks, though gambling was forbidden. But Sun- 
day was a hard day for the authorities; the boys were without 
occupation and much mischief was then concocted, especially on 
their long rambles in the surrounding woods or on fishing excur- 
sions. 

But Sherman looked after the amusements and recreations as 
well as the discipline of his boys. Parties and hops were fre- 



14 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

quently given, and to these the pretty daughters of the planters 
came in numbers. Sherman was as anxious as the boys for the 
girls to see the new uniforms, but he says that on all holidays he 
felt nervous, always looking for some manifestation of cadet mis- 
chief. 

To the young Louisianan, accustomed to outdoor life and to 
little restraint, the Seminary routine work, discipline, and indoor 
life was irksome in the extreme. That the difficulties of discipline 
were no greater was due largely to the administrative ability and 
the tact of Sherman, who, in spite of his strictness, was always 
popular with the students. 

The fame of the Seminary spread over the state, and many visi- 
tors came to see the school at work. These were treated with 
the greatest consideration, were shown over the buildings, and 
entertained at luncheon. To encourage the cadets in habits of 
neatness and order, Sherman always exhibited the cadets' rooms 
to those visiting parties which contained young girls and ladies. 
This scheme, it is said, worked well and markedly reduced the 
amount of tobacco consumed, or at least lessened the evidences 
of it. 

Sherman's estimates of his colleagues, formed upon brief ac- 
quaintance, have been quoted above. He modified his views but 
little upon further acquaintance. He held the members of the 
faculty rigidly to their work, believing, as he said to a member of 
the Board of Supervisors, that "since you pay your professors 
well, you have a right to expect them to work." He had little 
patience with the southern habit of procrastination whether in 
professors or in students. When two of his professors, through 
neglect to order books found themselves with large classes and 
no texts, Sherman had the classes marched regularly to their 
rooms to be given oral instruction. This was kept up until the 
books arrived. 

The superintendent made frequent visits of inspection to the 
class rooms, dropping in at the most unexpected times. The 
professors and students were thus stimulated to do their best at 
all times. A friendly professor wrote : 

"Sherman looked well, not only to the happiness and health of his 
charges and to the military discipline and drill, but especially to the pro- 
gress of the cadets in their academic studies. He had no patience with 
inefficient teaching, whether from want of ability, or too much ability, 



Sherman as College President 15 

rendering it difficult for the savant to come down to the plane of com- 
prehension of beginners. Yet he himself was no scholar in the profes- 
sional sense— not a man of varied and extensive literary and scientific 
acquirements nor even a general reader. He was rather the rough un- 
polished diamond, made great by nature and of deep discernment, need- 
ing little the ideas of other men. But brilliant and original as he was 
in thought, he had not the usual accompaniment of genius— want of prac- 
ticability. Sherman was eminently practical." 

The following incident is related of Sherman at the inaugural 
lecture of one of the professors in January, 1860: The professor 
"talked as he might have done to the faculty and seniors of Har- 
vard. I noticed Sherman looking glum and biting his lips; and 
the lecture over, he whispered to me— 'Every d-d shot went clear 
over their heads'. But he soon clipped the wings of our grandil- 
oquent soaring eagle and made him a plain barnyard fowl, a 
practical instructor." 

Likewise he had no respect for labored explanations and rea- 
soning. "Once I remember" said one of the professors, "he asked 
me my opinion about something. I gave it and then began to 
give my reasons when he stopped me with this remark: 'I only 
wanted your opinion. I did not ask for your reasons, and re- 
member, never give your reasons for what you do until you must. 
Maybe after a while a better reason will pop into your head.' " 

While Sherman insisted upon having firm control over the pro- 
fessors, as well as over the students, there was little friction on 
this account. Two of the professors— the foreigners— chafed a 
little and wanted more freedom of action, but personal relations 
were always pleasant. The superintendent had the respect ot 
his colleagues and, after a few months, the affection also. When 
in 1860 he was about to resign in order to go to London the 
manifestation of good will and esteem by the professors was 
rather a surprise to him, though a pleasing one. 

The supervisors and faculty had confidence in Sherman's judg- 
ment, fairness, and probity. He complained to his wife that the 
board placed too much confidence in him, allowed him too much 
freedom in financial matters, etc. A member of the faculty, Dr. 
Clarke, tells the following to illustrate the unwillingness of Sher- 
man to be paid for certain duties. 

"He was the most conscientious man I ever knew, especially in the dis- 
charge of public duty. His salary was $3,500 and in addition the Board 
allowed him $500 as treasurer (and he received $500 more as Superin- 



16 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

tendent of the Central Arsenal). One day he said to me: 'It is not right 
for me to be at the head of this school and (at the same time) its treas- 
ure. I want you to act as treasurer and you must take the $500 too.' 
He patiently taught me bookkeeping and insisted upon my receiving the 
pay." 

The Seminary was isolated from the outside world, and the pro- 
fessors were thus thrown much in one another's society. It was 
difficult to secure supplies nearer than New Orleans and New York, 
and servants could with difficulty be secured even by purchase. 
The unmarried professors and Sherman lived in the main building 
and messed together. The poor commissary arrangements wor- 
ried the professors as much as the students. While in Ohio dur- 
ing the vacation of 1860, Sherman wrote to one of the professors: 

"I wish we had Cincinnati near us at the Seminary. We should then 
not be troubled to get provisions, books, or furniture. . . . Though 
no gourmand I will return with regret from the apples, pears, vegeta- 
bles, meats, and luxuries of Ohio to the poor bread and poorer meat of 
the pine woods. It does seem to me that our lot is cast in the remotest 
part of the present civilized world." 

He saj's he lost fifteen pounds while in Louisiana and that his 
wife, thinking that he had been starved down there, was prepar- 
ing dainties for him to take back with him. The old accounts 
show that wine was frequently brought on to oflFset the poor 
bread, bacon, and greens. Sherman at first opposed the use of 
wine at the faculty table. He wrote to General Graham: "Gover- 
nor Moore sent a fine lot of cake for the cadets and a basket of 
wine for the professors. Theformer was added to their stock and 
enabled them to set a nice table for the ladies (on July 4). The 
wine is untouched and I hardly know what to do with it. I 
think it prudent that we should exhibit as little wine as possible 
in our rooms or on our tables. I have always paid, and advised 
the professors to pay, largely toward the general hospitality, 
and thus far we have done so without wine except claret." 

But the fare was so poor that the rule about wine was relaxed. 
General Graham and other friends of the school frequently sent 
to the Seminary delicacies from their plantations. To supply the 
needs of the school Sherman kept a store or commissary at the 
institution, much to the irritation of the Alexandria shopkeepers. 
Sherman's accounts show that he sometimes had to restrain the 
professors, especially St. Ange, to keep them from spending all 
their salaries at the store. 



Sherman as College President 17 

The young professors admired Sherman and looked upon him 
somewhat as an elder brother. He was fond of relating his ex- 
periences in the army and the west, and they were fond of listen- 
ing. Many of the long winter evenings were spent by them in 
Sherman's rooms, the young Virginians smoking and listening 
and Sherman roasting apples and talking. "What a charming 
and instructive companion he was tothoseof us who were thrown 
with him constantly at the Seminary," said Professor Boyd. "To 
me certainly was it a treat to listen to his clean cut and original 
views on nearly every subject that came up. And young as I was 
intimate association with so strong and fertile a mind, along 
with his sterling honesty and warm heart, was a rare benefit 
then, and a pleasing memory now. When the world knew but 
little of him, I looked up to Sherman as a singularly gifted man, 
his mind so strong, bright, clear, original and quick, as to stamp 
him a genius; and his heart under his stern, brusque, soldierly 
exterior, the warmest and tenderest. Of a happy nature himself, 
he strove to make all around him happy; and his integrity and 
scorn for a mean act were as firm as the rock. Such was Sher- 
man as I knew him most intimately for two years in the pine 
woods of Louisiana, before he became a great figure in American 
history. I respected and loved him then as I did ever after, though 
I became a southern soldier, and I revere his memory now." 

Shut off from the world as they were, the young professors 
welcomed every opportunity of getting out and mingling in the 
society of the community. When work was ended for the week 
Smith, Clarke, St. Ange, and sometimes Sherman went visiting 
the neighboring plantations where they were always welcome. 
Vallas seldom left home, and Boyd, who was not socially in- 
clined, took charge of the school. St. Ange went to horse races 
and once bought, with a large part of his quarter's salary, a 
worthless horse and buggy much to the amusement of his col- 
leagues. General Graham, so Professor Smith said, "was down 
on him (Smith) for gallanting". Sherman assured Graham that 
Smith was criticised mainly because he was attentive to a lady 
who was not of Rapides parish and added that "if we must con- 
form to every rumor we will lead a devil of a life here." Profes- 
sor Boyd, who preferred reading to "gallanting" wrote: 

"Sherman studied the amusements and recreations of his charges. 
Fond himself of young society and dancing, he gave the cadets frequent 



18 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

hops, the planters and their pretty daughters coming in swarms. They 
soon got to be as fond of Sherman as his cadets were. They delighted 
to have him at their homes on the river and bayous, and many an eve- 
ning did he spend with them, usually accompanied by his handsome 
young commandant of Cadets, Major Frank Smith, (killed in Lee's army 
the night before the surrender at Appomattox) , and his accomplished 
surgeon. Dr. Powhatan Clarke, now living in Baltimore, while not so 
much of a lady's man remained behind to run the school." 

Rapides Parish in which the Seminary was located was noted 
in the Southwest for its refined and intelligent population — Cre- 
ole and Anglo-American. The latter element was mainly from the 
upper South — Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Kentucky; 
the former was native to the soil — for more than a hundred years 
they had preserved in Central Louisiana the best qualities of the 
Louisiana French. It was a community of planters; hospitality 
was unbounded; social intercourse was free and pleasant. In 
Rapides Sherman was a social favorite, and was much in demand 
for week end visits at the planters' homes on the river. He was 
generally well-liked, a fact remarked upon by the Federal gener- 
als who passed through this region during the Civil War. The 
politicians would have called him "a good mixer." Says one of 
his colleagues : 

"He loved to mingle with all classes of people, the lowly as well as the 
high. He understood them all, and he made all understand him. He 
would drop in on business men in their offices, or stores, and say a 
pleasant, encouraging word to the common laborer or negro slave. He 
was fond of children, would pet them, and they would play with him. 
. . . No one ever lived in Louisiana so short a time, and commanded 
so thoroughly the respect, confidence and love of the people as did Sher- 
man. He was popular with all classes, easily adapting himself to all 
conditions and to any circumstances. As a case in point, one evening in 
Alexandria, he and 1 had taken tea with Judge Manning, of the Supreme 
Court, afterwards United States Minister to Belgium and to Mexico. 
We were there till late. Sherman was to take the early stage next 
morning for the mouth of Red River, there to take a boat for Ohio to 
spend the vacation. When he went to the hotel it was crowded — not a 
room, not a bed. 'But,' said he to the clerk, 'we must have a bed. I 
am to take the stage in the morning ; nor could we go over the river to 
the Academy, even if we wished ; the ferryboat isn't running at this time 
of night.' 'Indeed, Colonel Sherman,' said the clerk, 'I am mighty 
sorry; but I have no place to put you.' 'But', replied Sherman, 'you 
must make a place ; we'll not take no for an answer.' After studying a 
while the clerk said: 'Well, if you will stay, the best I can do is to turn 
ont the boot-black and give you his bed ; but I dislike to ofier you such 



Sherman as College Peesident 19 

a bed.' 'No matter about that', said Sherman; 'it will do first rate. If 
the boot-black can stand it every night, we surely can stand it one 
night !' And the boot- black turned out, and we turned in ; and the boot- 
black was a darkey." 

Before the close of the first session the Seminary and its stu- 
dents and professors had the good will of the people of Central 
Louisiana. To a Fourth of July celebration the Seminary au- 
thorities invited many people, and so successful was the occasion 
that hundreds flocked to the final examinations a month later. 
Sherman announced in the newspapers that all visitors would be 
entertained at dinner and supper, and, of course, the attendance 
was large. 

Of the closing days of the first session Professor Boyd wrote 
years afterward : 

"Our session of 1859 closed successfully and most pleasantly with the 
usual examinations, drills, speeches, and great ball. Sherman made an 
address, and though he had not then acquired that facility which after- 
wards made him one of the best public speakers in the land, he acquitted 
himself most creditably, even in the opinion of the large number of able 
and eloquent men who heard him. At the ball Sherman was at his best 
and in his glory. He loved company, gay, happy company — and to feel 
that he was making all have a happy time. Both fathers and mothers 
of the gay young dancers were there too; also the Governor of the State, 
the Supervisors, and other distinguished guests. None was neglected. 
Sherman personally welcomed all, saw all, chatted pleasantly with all — 
made all feel at home, and have a royal good time. It was a treat to 
his guests, young and old, to see him enjoy their presence so heartily. 
Wonderful social man was he! prince of entertainers — a warm, generous 
spirit all aglow, and a bright, facile mind all devoted to making those 
around him happy. The ball lasted till broad daylight ; and the beauty 
and chivalry of Louisiana went away with admiration and love for Sher- 
man. 

"But I must tell rather a funny thing that happened at the examina- 
tions. I had an English class; and among other bits of ungrammatical 
language to be corrected, I had put on the board an expression taken 
from General John C. Breckinridge's good "democracy" but bad 
"Lindley Murray". Well, old Jesse Bynum, the famous fire-eating Con- 
gressman in the days of General Jackson and one of the Supervisors of 
the Academy, spied it. Turning to Sherman he said: "We can forgive 
you for being born in Ohio, and even for being the brother of John Sher- 
man, the Black Republican, but d d if I like your poking fun at our 

candidate." Sherman thought it a good joke; told him it was put there 
by the only Breckinridge man in the faculty. Old Jesse excused Sher- 
man, but don't think he ever quite forgave me, though I voted along 



20 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

with him for Breckinridge. Sherman favored Bell for President, but 
thought Douglass would be elected. He didn't think Lincoln could be. 
He was farthest from an Abolitionist— not even a Republican then." 

There was mucli to be done to perfect the organization of the 
Seminary, and during the two years of his stay in Louisiana 
Sherman made frequent visits to the capitol at Baton Rouge and 
to New Orleans to secure needed legislation, etc. He had inti- 
mate friends among the Louisiana leaders— Braxton Bragg, 
Beauregard, Dick Taylor, Governor Wickliffe and Moore and 
many others. He was, he said "in the land of clover as well as 
molasses" all the time when traveling about the state. 

During the whole of Sherman's stay at the Seminary there was 
some controversy among the authorities as to the degree of mili- 
tary discipline which should be enforced. General Graham and 
the majority of the board wanted a second West Point— a scien- 
tific school with strict military discipline, the superintendent to 
have full authority over faculty and students. Sherman stood 
between the extremes. His friends Braxton Bragg and Dick Tay- 
lor were ardent advocates of the strict military regime. Bragg 
wrote to Sherman: "The more you see of our society, especially 
our young men, the more you will be impressed with the impor- 
tance of a change in our system of education if we expect the next 
generation to be anything more than a mere aggregation of loaf- 
ers charged with the duty of squandering their fathers' legacies 
and disgracing their mothers." 

The question was carried before the legislature in March, 1860, 
and Sherman went to Baton Rouge to represent the Seminary. 
The legislature compromised by pursuing a middle course. The 
military system was sanctioned, and the institution was renamed 
"The Louisiana State Seminary and Military Academy," while 
the question of discipline was left to the judgment of the board. 
Against strong opposition the legislature voted to maintain fifty- 
four beneficiaries at the Seminary. Dick Taylor objected to "pau- 
perising" the school. All of Sherman's requests for appropria- 
tions were granted. 

For a time it looked as if the controversy would injure the 
Seminary, and Sherman began to think of leaving. An offer of a 
business position in London paying $7,500 a year led him to send 
in his resignation, but so strong was the wish of both factions 



Sherman as College President 21 

that he stay at the head of the school that he agreed to go North 
to investigate the position before deciding. 

When General Graham learned that Sherman was about to 
leave, he at once called upon the board to meet the increase of 
salary oflfered. He offered to guarantee from his own funds an 
increase of $1000, (making $4,500 a year). To Governor Moore 
Graham wrote that the danger of losing "our irreplaceable Super- 
intendent" had kept him awake half the night; "that a man com- 
petent to govern, control, and instruct a large institution is of 
rare occurrence and if we throw away this one there is little like- 
lihood that we can replace him. ... I have seen enough to 
satisfy me that we could not hope to get again exactly such a 
man for the position, one of so clear, quick and decided a mind, such 
practical administrative and executive qualities, such experience 
and varied knowledge of men, the world and its business, combin- 
ed with such kindliness of heart and parental care and watchful- 
ness. I have found fully realized in him all which General Gibson, 
Colonel J. P. Taylor (brother of the late President) and other 
gentlemen told me in Washington last September, when they said 
in the words of Colonel Taylor, 'if you had hunted the whole ar- 
my from one end to the other you could not have found a man in 
it more admirably suited for the position in every respect than 
Sherman.' " 

So attractive were the inducements offered that Sherman with- 
drew his resignation and remained in Louisiana. A few months 
later the board rather unexpectedly curtailed his authority, and 
he then expressed his regrets that he did not go to London. Sher- 
man wished the professors to wear uniforms on formal occasions; 
some of the professors disliked uniforms, and the board was di- 
vided on the matter but finally excused the faculty, and the stu- 
dents became more turbulent after the strict regime was relaxed. 
In a letter to Mrs, Sherman the superintendent wrote on Novem- 
ber 29, 1860: "I observe more signs of loosened discipline here. 
Boys are careless and last night because the supper did not please 
them they smashed the crockery and made a riot generally. Pis- 
tols were fired, which scared Joe, (an Ohio employee) very much, — 
his education has been neglected, but I think he will get used to 
it. I fear that the institution is in danger from causes which 
arose after I left last summer. The alterations made after I left 



22 The South Atlantic Quarterly 

were wrong in principle, causing General Graham to resign, and 
since then he will take no interest in our affairs. Governor Moore 
is intent on politics, same of Dr. Smith, so we are left to the 
chances of the caprices of a parcel of wild boys." 

The superintendent was also professor of engineering, but since 
his classes would not be formed until 1862 he had no regular in- 
struction work. He taught Spanish when Prof St. Ange was sick. 
He says that his Spanish was that of theMexican border—' 'Greaser" 
Spanish. Once in a while a class in mathematics recited to him, 
and on Friday mornings he presided over the "speaking" in the 
assembly hall. But his most effective teaching was in history 
and geography. He was a firm believer in the principles upon 
which the republic was founded and frequently lectured upon 
them. He was also an expansionist and fond of talking about 
that aspect of American history. One of the cadets who sat 
under him said: "Much given to silence and the keeping of his 
own counsel, he was fluent and eloquent when he spoke. I have 
heard him lecture charmingly to the assembled students on the 
history of his country, selecting by preference chapters of explo- 
ration and adventure, or heroic struggle and enterprise, such as 
gave to the Union the territory of Texas and the great West. Up- 
on me and others he made the impression of an ardent, powerful 
man, governed by duty and a sense of devotion to his country 
and humanity." 

The students not only liked his Friday talks on geography, 
battles, expansion, and the far west, but they began to call at his 
rooms to hear more, and it is said that frequently he would be 
seen on the campus surrounded by an interested group to whom 
he was talking of the picturesque events in the nation's history. 
Few people have ever believed more strongly than Sherman in the 
political and social results of geographic conditions, and his teach- 
ings of the time were permeated with his views. 

Sherman's family did not join him in Louisiana but remained 
at home in Lancaster, Ohio. At first there was no suitable dwell- 
ing for them, and later when a residence was available the politi- 
cal conditions were so threatening that Mrs. Sherman hesitated 
to come. From November, 1859, to March, 1861, Sherman car- 
ried on a lengthy correspondence with his wife, his little daughter 
and other relatives. It is mainly from these letters that we learn 



Sherman as College President 23 

of Sherman's life in Louisiana and of the beginnings of the Louis- 
iana State University. In August, 1860, he went North for a 
vacation period which lasted until November. After visiting 
Washington and New York on Seminary business he spent the 
rest of the time with his family in Lancaster — going to country 
fairs, speculating about politics, hunting chestnuts with his chil- 
dren, playing and romping with them, and writing of it all to 
friends in Louisiana. 

He had hoped to have his family in Louisiana with him, the 
state of Louisiana had built him a fine house, and he had taken 
great interest in arranging for the coming of Mrs. Sherman and 
children in November of 1860, but the disturbed political situa- 
tion caused him to leave the family in Ohio. In a letter to his 
nine year old daughter, written a month before the secession of 
Louisiana, Sherman said: 

"Ih the back yard I have prepared for a small garden, but the soil is 
poor and will not produce much, except early peas, lettuce and sweet 
potatoes. The house itself looks beautiful. Two front porches and one 
back, all the windows open to the floor, like doors, so that you can 
walk out on the porch either upstairs or downstairs. I know you 
would all like the house so much. What I have been planning so long 
and patiently, and thought that we were all on the point of realizing, 
the dream and hope of my life, that we could all be together once more 
in a home of our own, with peace and quiet and plenty around us — all, I 
fear, is about to vanish, and again I fear I must be a wanderer, leaving 
you all to grow up at Lancaster without your Papa. Men are blind 
and crazy, they think all the people of Ohio are trying to steal their 
slaves, and incite them to rise up and kill their masters. I know this is 
a delusion, they believe it harder than a real fact and these people in the 
South are going, for this delusion, to break up the government under 
which we live. You cannot understand this but Mamma will explain it 
to you. Our Governor here has gone so far that he cannotchange, andin 
a month maybe you will be living under one government and I another. 
This cannot last long, and as I know it is best for you to stay in Lan- 
caster, I will not bring you down here at all, unless some very great 
change takes place. If this were only a plain college I could stay with 
propriety, but it is an arsenal with guns and powder and balls, and 
were I to stay here I might have to fight for Louisiana and against 
Ohio." 

Sherman's views on politics were moderate. He was an Old 
Line Whig and considered his brother John, the "Black Republi- 
can," as quite too radical. He deplored the sectional feeling and 
the resulting controversies and was overwhelmed with grief when 



24 The South Atlantic Quaeteely 

he heard of the secession of South Carolina. No secret was ever 
made of his own sentiments: he would not go against the Union. 
So in January, 1861, when the governor of Louisiana seized the 
forts at New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Sherman resigned. For a 
few weeks longer he remained settling up his affairs, and late in 
February he left for the North. Of his leavetaking we have the 
following account by one of the professors: "The morning he left 
us he had his battalion formed. Stepping out in front of them he 
made them a short talk, and then, passing along the line, right to 
left, bade each and every oflScer and man — not a dry eye among 
them — an affectionate farewell. Then, approaching our sad group 
of professors, he silently shook our hands, attempted to speak, 
broke down, and, with tears trickling down his cheeks with 
another effort, he could only lay his hand on his heart and say: 
'You are all here'. Then turning quickly on his heel, he left us, to 
be ever in our hearts." 

He stopped in New Orleans for a short stay with Braxton Bragg 
who was then organizing troops for the "Independent State of 
Louisiana". From a letter written while in New Orleans to a 
friend at the Seminary the following passage is taken: 

"The truth is I have socially been too much isolated from my children, 
and now that they are at an age when for good or ill we should be to- 
gether, I must try to allay that feeling of change and venture which has 
made me a wanderer. If possible I will settle down — fast and positive. 
Of a summer eve, with little Minnie and Willy, and the rascal Tom, I 
can live over again my Florida life, my ventures in California, and my 
short sojourn in the pine woods of Louisiana; and I will teach them that 
there are kind, good people everywhere; that a great God made all the 
world; that he slighted no part; that to some he assigned the rock and 
fir, with clear, babbHng brooks, but cold and bitter winters; to others the 
grassy plain and fertile soil, to others the rich alluvium and burning sun 
to ripen the orange and sugar cane, but everywhere He gave the same 
firmament, the same gentle moon, and to the inhabitants the same 
attributes for good and evil." 

AUTHOR'S NOTE 
This paper is based mainly upon manuscript material pre- 
served in the archives of the Louisiana State University. This 
material consists of the manuscript records of the old Louisiana 
State Seminary, the letter books and miscellaneous correspond- 
ence of W. T. Sherman, G. Mason Graham, P. G. T. Beauregard, 
Braxton Bragg, D. F. Boyd, Stokes A. Smith, Francis W. Smith, 
Governors R. C. Wickliffe and Thomas 0. Moore ; correspondence 
of students and their relatives; the reminiscences of W. S. Bring- 
hurst, Rene T. Beauregard, D. F. Boyd, and Powhatan Clarke. 



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